Professional Advice

December is National Influenza Vaccination Month

BY: CDC, Healthline

December is a time to remind people that there is still time to get vaccinated against the flu. Vaccination can be lifesaving, especially for people who are at higher risk of developing serious flu complications due to pre-existing conditions or compromised immune systems, including pregnant women and children, as well as people with COPD. The number of children getting sick with the flu every year numbers in the millions, of which thousands end up hospitalized.

Though the regular flu season occurs from fall to early spring, the duration and level of severity for an epidemic may vary. Not everyone will be affected by the flu the same way and some might not have the flu at all. 

Flu symptoms can include coughing, fever, headache, muscle or body aches, sore throat, runny or stuffed-up nose, fatigue, and vomiting and diarrhea. The symptoms can be so severe that it can keep you bedridden for a week or more.

The flu virus is changing constantly, which makes it widespread and difficult to avoid. For that reason and because the protection offered by vaccination decreases over time, the CDC recommends getting a flu vaccine every year, to prevent the risks associated with the virus. New vaccines are created and sold every year to keep up with these rapid changes.

Flu vaccines work by following multiple steps, such as choosing the correct strain and producing enough vaccines for everyone. Before each flu season federal health experts must predict which strain of the virus is most likely to thrive and they use these predictions to let manufacturers know which vaccine to produce. The flu shot works by encouraging your immune system to produce antibodies. And with the help of these antibodies, your body can fight the strain of the flu virus present in the vaccine. The antibodies take about 2 weeks to fully form once the vaccine has been administered.

There are two variations to the vaccine that protect against different strain of the influenza A and B virus, which are the viruses that cause the seasonal epidemics and those vaccines are called trivalent and quadrivalent.  Trivalent protects against two common A strains and one B strain. The trivalent vaccine is the high dose vaccine. Quadrivalent vaccine protects against four commonly circulating viruses, of which two are influenza A viruses and two are influenza B viruses. Check with your insurance provider and doctor to get a recommendation as CDC doesn’t currently recommend one over the other. The shots are not 100 percent effective fighting the flu; however, the vaccine is the most effective method we currently have which can protect us against the virus and related complications.

There are certain groups of people who are more at risk of getting the flu virus and developing dangerous complications than others. It is especially recommended that these high-risk groups be vaccinated. These groups include pregnant women and women up to 2 weeks after pregnancy, children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years old, people 18 and under who receive aspirin therapy, people over 65, anyone with chronic medical conditions, American Indians and Alaska Natives, anyone living or working in a nursing home or chronic care facility, caregivers of any of the above individuals.

Chronic medical conditions that could increase the risk of complications include asthma, neurologic conditions, blood disorders, chronic lung disease (i.e. COPD), endocrine disorders, heart disease, kidney disease, liver disease, metabolic disorders, people who’ve had a stroke, and people with weakened immune systems due to disease or medications (steroids). Unless completely isolated, most people are at risk of getting the flu virus. If there is prolonged interaction with at risk groups both medically and with professions which regularly interact with at risk groups, you are part of the at-risk group.

You should not get the flu shot if you’ve had a bad reaction to it in the past, people with egg allergies or mercury allergy, people with Gillain-Bare syndrome, or people with a fever. The flu shot also has mild side effects associated with it, which some people mistake for the flu. You can’t get the flu from the vaccine, but some people experience flu like symptoms including low-grade fever, swollen, red, tender area around the injection site, and chills or headache. The symptoms typically go away within two days.

The types of vaccines available are high-dose, intradermal, and nasal spray. The CDC approved different types of vaccination for different groups. The high dose is for people 65 years of age and older, as their immune system response weakens with age and they need a stronger dose to have the same effect as the regular dose does for regular groups. Intradermal flu shot is for people between the ages of 18 and 64. For people who are afraid of needles this might be a better choice, but side effects are also more common. The nasal spray vaccine is for people who meet the following conditions: they are afraid of needles, no chronic medical conditions, are not pregnant, and are between the ages of 2 and 49. The nasal spray should not be taken by people who are part of any at risk groups.

The best time to get the flu vaccine is early fall and taking it the single best way to prevent the flu. However, taking the flu vaccine does not completely guarantee prevention against the virus. It is also possible to have the COVID-19 and flu virus at the same time, which further risks developing increasingly dangerous complications. Flu shots are widely available at any pharmacies and grocery stores with no appointment necessary.